Safety Concerns Driving Kids To School

30 January 2014

More than half (53%) of Australian children are now driven to school

Main reason cited is safety, with Dads expressing more concern than Mums

If you think traffic seems much worse when school goes back you’re not imagining things. An independent survey conducted by low-cost insurance provider Budget Direct has found just over half of children (53%) are now driven to school.

The survey* of parents across Australia found most (40%) drove their kids to school because “it is safer for them”, with Dads more likely than Mums to cite safety concerns (45% compared to 36%) as their main reason.

The results also demonstrated a marked difference in the way previous generations made their way to school compared to the children of today, says Margueritte Rossi, Senior Communications Manager, Budget Direct.

“Only 10% of respondents said they were driven to school as a child, with the majority walking, taking the school bus or riding their bikes,” says Ms Rossi. “With each new generation there has been a decrease in the percentage of children taking an active mode of transport to school.”

Two in five (40%) Australian adults reported walking to school when they were children, with one in five (22%) taking the bus and one in six (16%) riding a bike. Today, half (53%) of children are driven to school, while one in five (22%) walk, and only one in 33 (3%) ride a bike.

Although today’s parents are concerned about the safety of children walking to school, Budget Direct’s crash and accident data has found that more motor accidents occur at key drop off and pick up times during school term time than school holiday periods, says Ms Rossi.

“Nationally, 26% of pedestrian incidents involving vehicles occurred during school term in the school drop off and pick up times, compared to 20% in the holidays.”

Travel to School

Q. What is the usual way your children travel to school?

Q. When you were a school student, what was the usual way you travelled to school?

GenY (20-34)

Gen X (35-49)

Baby Boomers (50-68)

Builders (69+)

Walk

28%

38%

49%

43%

Ride bike

10%

16%

18%

22%

*Source: McCrindle Research Survey conducted on behalf of Budget Direct. 321 respondents aged 18 and over with school-aged children participated across regional and metropolitan areas of Australia.

Budget Direct was established as an insurance provider in Australia in 2000. It is part of the international BHL Group of companies headquartered in the British Isles. The group provides more than 6.8 million policies to insurance customers and administers $2 billion in premiums annually. Budget Direct offers Motor, Home & Contents, Health, Life and Travel Insurance as well as Roadside Assistance.

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